Tuesday 1 October 2019

We had entertainment as we sat on deck eating our breakfast this morning. There were a couple of guys fishing in the marina, one on our pontoon and very close by. He had no elaborate equipment, just a hand line with weighted hooks and some bait. During the time we watched he caught at least 2 rather splendid looking dorada, which he put into a bucket to take away. They were certainly a good size to eat, although I’m not sure I would be happy to eat something caught in the marina.  All of the time he was fishing he was looking around rather furtively. It wasn’t clear if he was not meant to be there, or he was checking his progress against his colleague on another pontoon.

Shortly afterwards the riggers returned and one went up the mast to check everything and diagnose our problem fully. He came down saying that there was no problem at the masthead or with the backstay, which was a great relief.  We then continued our search for the source of debris that we had discovered about the deck and eventually found the it. One of the deck-level blocks that feeds the main halliard up the mast had disintegrated under the pressure exerted by the electric winch. It must have literally exploded and I am glad no one was in the way when it did. The only part left was the housing that is bolted to the deck. We talked about the solution and he left to talk to one of his friends to see if something could be made up to do the job, while I phoned the boat manufacturers agent in the UK.  Eventually both routes paid dividends. The riggers returned in the afternoon with a replacement block, which they fitted, and the UK agents are dispatching the authentic part. It will go to our next guests who are arriving here in Cagliari at the weekend.  It will be good to have multiple solutions available.

We were also treated to Dragon boat crew practising

Other maintenance items filled the day. We had noted earlier in the year that there were some leaks from the hatches in the coach-roof, and while we were at home during the summer, I had order replacement seals. Apologies to anyone who is flooded at home, but we have had so little rain here over the last few months there has been no urgency to fit them.  Now with the end of the season in sight, and the preparations for leaving the boat for the winter coming to the front of our attention, we thought we should get on with it. We tackled the first of at least 3, knowing that this would be the most time consuming while we learned the process. All was completed successfully, as far as we can tell, I think we will only know for sure when we get some serious rain.  We’ll try the next 2 tomorrow.

Later in the afternoon, when the temperature had dropped for its 30C maximum, we went for a walk along the promenade towards the main part of the commercial harbour. Before we reached it, we came across a complex of buildings decorated in a uniform style and with well know sponsors logos in evidence.  They were clearly setting up for some sort of function and there was a certain amount of security in place, although not over the top. We realised that this was the training base for the Italian Americas Cup entry and wandered through the car park to see what we could see, which was not very much.  There were various guys in team uniforms, showing their allegiance to Prada, one of the main sponsors.  As we left, a guy walked past us on his way in, and I thought he looks a bit like Jimmy Spithill (an Australian equivalent to Sir Ben Ainslie, but without the Olympic Gold Medals), who was the helm of the American entry to the Americas Cup for the last 2 events.  When we returned to our boat, I looked up the Luna Rossa Team details, and sure enough, Jimmy Spithill is one of the lead players, so it must have been him. To be fair, he did not recognise us either! The website revealed that they are having the formal launch event for the boat tomorrow, so we will try to see whatever we can. 

Hopefully we will see some of the testing and practice work over the next few days.  The new style of Americas Cup boats are if anything, going to be even more spectacular than the last set.

Distance covered today	0	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	400	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	1453	nautical miles

Steve (and Tricia)